Reading #5 - Online Translators (Polio, 2008)

As an L2 French learner myself, I often use online translators to help myself with writing here and there. I most commonly use Word Reference and Bon Patron to help me with my writing.  I have an adequate language level in the target language to determine which online translators I use regularly, however, my students do not have the language level necessary to make informed choices.

During my practicum, I only sent home one writing assignment.  It was a group project where students had to write a script of a regular interaction between a customer and a clothing sales clerk.  Most of the students were used to writing the script in English and then translating it into French.  My personal philosophy is that L2 learning cannot occur as quickly or effectively if the L2 learner's learning process is primarily word ford word translation.  At the start of language acquisition it is important that students are translating, however, as a student progresses they should try to rely less and less on translation.   In authentic situations, speakers of a foreign language will seldom have the time to consult a dictionary or online source word ford word.  In class I encouraged the students to write the script FIRST in French. I noticed that as we progressed through the assignment, many groups would have elaborate French sentences including various grammatical errors very typical of online translation tools.  I chose to address this issue with the entire class where we discussed the kinds of errors that can be made using solely online translators.  We also discussed when it is appropriate to use them (i.e. editing work).

Another issue that I found particularly interesting was the fact that students in Grade 9 and 10 in my classrooms were almost completely unfamiliar with how to use an actual print dictionary!  As I grew up this was the only tool I used so it was a completely foreign concept to me that dictionaries would go untouched in a language classroom.  I frequently distributed dictionaries during group exercises and in-class writing assignments.  If students use a print dictionary as a primary source the lengthy time it takes to look up words will grow tiresome over time.  I believe that using a print dictionary emphasizes the need to pay close attention to spelling and vocabulary during class exercises so that students don't have to spend a copious amount of time looking up every single word.  Technology is so quick and gives feedback so immediately that students depend on it too much.  I think accountability towards knowledge of class content (by students) would completely change if online translators did not exist.